It is known in the art to secure dental prostheses using dental implants secured in the upper or lower jawbone. It is also known in the art to mount a framework or superstructure to a number of implants, the superstructure being used to evenly support a set of false teeth or denture prostheses. Accurate placement within the jawbone of the implants is a difficult task. In International Patent Application No. PCT/IT94/00059, published 24 Nov. 1994 as WO 94/26200, there is described an adjustable guiding device for positioning dental implants in which it is possible for the dental surgeon to adjust a drill axis for each implant before proceeding to use the guiding device or drill template to guide the surgeon's drill for the purposes of preparing the drill hole for the implant. The guiding device disclosed in the International publication helps the dental surgeon to decide on the drill axis after viewing radiographic images of the radio-opaque tubular drill guide superposed the bone structure.
In the known prior art, the oral surgeon typically has difficulty deciding on a drill axis for the implants since the ideal position for the implants should be decided with knowledge of the jawbone structure into which the implant is to be inserted, knowledge of the position within the jawbone structure of the nerve tissue, the gum surface and the required position and dimensions of the false teeth or dentures to be supported by the dental implant. Of course, in the conventional manner of selecting the implant axis, the dentist or dental surgeon simply makes a best guess in light of his knowledge of the patient. Of course, this leads, in certain cases, to imperfections in the dental prosthesis. The imperfections may be lack of ideal support, unfavorable angulation of an implant causing a weakness in the implant which may cause failure over time, or a visually perceptible defect in the appearance of the prosthesis.
In the conventional method for the construction of the superstructure, a physical model of the patient's gums and dental implant heads is prepared on which the superstructure is built manually using molding and other techniques known in the art. The craftsman or technician skilled at manufacturing such dental superstructures takes into consideration the size and shape of the desired dentures to be placed over the superstructure when crafting the same. The procedure for manufacturing dental implant superstructures as is conventionally known in the art is time-consuming and sometimes results in imperfect structures or defects in the visual appearance of the dentures to be placed over the superstructure.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,170 granted Mar. 28, 1995 to Nonomura, there is disclosed a method and apparatus for measuring by camera image the implant heads of the implants in the patient's mouth for the purposes of cutting a frame on which the prosthetic teeth will be arranged and baked. In the method disclosed, the construction of the frame or superstructure is carried out in the absence of a reference to the shape and position of the patient's ideal teeth position. Thus, as the dentures or artificial teeth are crafted on the frame or superstructure, care would be required during the manual process to ensure that the position of the teeth on the frame will match the opposed set of teeth in the patient's mouth.
Known techniques also have the disadvantage of necessitating two separate sessions to install the implants and the superstructure. It would be highly beneficial to be able to prepare the superstructure prior to the surgery so that the implants and the superstructure are installed during the same surgical procedure.